[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 152 (Thursday, August 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47806-47807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17175]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030519; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Hastings Museum, Hastings, NE

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Hastings Museum has completed an inventory of human 
remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and present-day Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of 
any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this 
notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains 
should submit a written request to the Hastings Museum. If no 
additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human 
remains to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian 
organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to the 
Hastings Museum at the address in this notice by September 8, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Teresa Kreutzer-Hodson, Hastings Museum, 1330 North 
Burlington Avenue, Hastings, NE 68901, telephone (402) 461-2399, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains under 
the control of the Hastings Museum, Hastings, NE. The human remains 
were removed from Bonita, Morehouse Parish, LA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Hastings 
Museum professional staff in

[[Page 47807]]

consultation with representatives of The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    Sometime prior to 1926, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Bonita in Morehouse Parish, LA. The human 
remains were donated to the Hastings Museum by Bonita resident Thomas 
Harp, and cataloged between 1926 and 1931 (01504). No known individual 
was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Hasting Museum records state that these human remains were 
excavated from the upper layer of soil and attributes them to the 
Choctaw. The occipital exhibits cranial remodeling, which is known to 
have been practiced by the Choctaw.
    Sometime prior to 1926, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a burial mound at or near Bonita, LA. 
According to Hasting Museum records, during the course of road 
construction, the human remains were discovered 10 feet below the base 
of the mound. (The records also state that pottery associated with the 
human remains was removed, but it was not given to the Hastings Museum 
and its whereabouts are unknown.) The human remains were donated to the 
Hastings Museum by Bonita resident Thomas Harp, and cataloged between 
1926 and 1931 (02136). No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Early records identify this individual as Choctaw. The human 
remains exhibit extensive asymmetrical cranial remodeling, which is 
known to have been practiced by the Choctaw (the type of remodeling 
cannot be determined due to post-mortem damage).

Determinations Made by the Hastings Museum

    Officials of the Hastings Museum have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Teresa 
Kreutzer-Hodson, Hastings Museum, 1330 North Burlington Avenue, 
Hastings, NE 68901, telephone (402) 461-2399, email 
[email protected], by September 8, 2020. After that 
date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains to The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma may 
proceed.
    The Hastings Museum is responsible for notifying The Choctaw Nation 
of Oklahoma that this notice has been published.

    Dated: June 25, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-17175 Filed 8-5-20; 8:45 am]
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